Commentary:
On an uneventful day in the markets, stocks ended the session mixed on light trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average showed the most resiliency as it posted a 0.4% gain. The S&P 500 tacked on 0.1%, as the small-cap Russell 2000 closed at the breakeven mark. The Nasdaq slid by 0.2% while the S&P MidCap 400 was the day’s loser, as it shed 0.3%.
Market internals ended mixed on the day. Turnover fell across the board. On the Nasdaq, trade dropped by 11.6% and on the NYSE it fell by 10.6%. For the first time in recent memory, advancing volume closed dead even with declining volume on the NYSE. However, declining volume held the upper hand on the Nasdaq as it outpaced advancing volume by a ratio of 1.5 to 1. Tuesday’s light volume points to an absence of institutional participation in the day’s action.
Recently, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF has exhibited excellent relative strength to the broad market, as it has reclaimed support of its 200-day MA. If XHB can consolidate for a few days above this key mark, then it becomes more likely that the next move will be higher. We will be monitoring this ETF closely as a potential long candidate.
Since reclaiming its 200-day MA on November 10th, the United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) has formed a bullish cup and handle like pattern, and now appears ready for a move higher. A rally above the December 5th high of $39.50 could provide a buy entry trigger for this ETF. We are placing USO on the watchlist. Trade details are available in the watchlist segment of the newsletter for our subscribers.
Our open positions in EUO and GDXJ performed well early in the session, but then reversed later in the day. However, both ETFs made their intraday moves on light volume. For the fourth consecutive day, all of the major indices have been consolidating above their respective 200-period moving averages on the 60-minute chart. Typically, the longer this type of consolidation continues, the more likely the next move will be higher.
Today’s Watchlist:
USO
Long
Shares = 200
Trigger = 39.56
Stop = 38.43
Target = 41.65
Dividend Date = n/a
Notes = see commentary above
Daily Performance Report:
Below is an overview of all open positions, as well as a performance report on all positions that were closed only since the previous day’s newsletter. Net P/L figures are based on the $50,000 Wagner Daily model account size. Changes to open positions since the previous report are listed in red text below. Please review the Wagner Daily Subscriber Guide for important, automatic rules on trigger and stop prices
- GDXJ short setup triggered.
- Reminder to subscribers – Intraday Trade Alerts to your e-mail and/or mobile phone are normally only sent to indicate a CHANGE to the pre-market plan that is detailed in each morning’s Wagner Daily. We sometimes send a courtesy alert just to confirm action that was already detailed in the pre-market newsletter, but this is not always the case. If no alert is received to the contrary, one should always assume we’re honoring all stops and trigger prices listed in each morning’s Wagner Daily. But whenever CHANGES to the pre-market stops or trigger prices are necessary, alerts are sent on an AS-NEEDED basis. Just a reminder of the purpose of Intraday Trade Alerts.
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Notes:
Edited by Deron Wagner,
MTG Founder and
Head Trader